Shane “Hurricane” Helms talks the current wrestling scene

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Hosts Jack E. Jones and One Inch Biceps welcomed former WWE Superstar The Hurricane to IYH Wrestling Radio for the third time.

Highlights included the following:

Did he think it hinders younger wrestlers when they’re not allowed to do their own stuff and all their promos are scripted?

“Yeah, I definitely believe that. You know, there’s a lot of artistry to what we do, and if you don’t let artists practice their craft, you’re kind of holding them back. You can’t go out there and just give everybody free reign at the same time, but guys, whether it’s on house shows or Superstars or that Saturday show (Slam) or whatever, they need to get a chance to go out there and be able to talk, and be able to talk in front of people. Because it’s a hard thing to do for some people…some people, when the red light on that camera comes on, they can’t put two words together. It hurts some guys a lot of times; you go out there and you give them free reign to say what they want to say and it’s just garbage, you think “OMG, what did I do?”…I think they’re more afraid of that happening is what the deal is; that’s why they don’t give some guys the creative control to explore their character for themselves because they’re so afraid of somebody striking out.”

About wrestlers belonging in the WWE:

“When I was in WWE, I would get frustrated a lot with guys because I just always felt that you should be good to be there. Now it’s where guys go to start their career. It used to be where guys go to end their career because you had to be good to get there. Now it’s where guys start and there’s like so many guys that aren’t ready for that stage. And because they’re presented as WWE superstars there are some fans who kind of just assume that they’re good and they kind of fall under that and get worked by it. But there are a lot of guys who just aren’t ready to be there, and that’s unfortunate. I think it shines through; I think that fans can see through a lot of it, and that’s why the ratings are kind of where they’re at today.”

On wrestlers finding a way to stand out:

“You know, when they were doing that cookie cutter thing with OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) and even to a degree down in FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) where everybody had the same look, that’s BS. If that’s what you’re grooming, of course everybody is going to look the same. But that’s not what wrestling is. Wrestling is the ultimate variety show. I mean, that’s why a guy like myself ended up being successful. You didn’t need another big mean angry guy. I came in as a little Hurricane and was selling more merchandise than most everybody on the roster. It’s a variety. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to be the world champion or anything, but you need stuff like that. You can’t have everybody exactly the same. As much as I like watching Ring of Honor, it seems to me every match is exactly the same as the one before. There is no variety there, and I wish they would, but at the same time they have their niche base of fans that want to see that, so who’s to say that’s the way to go. I know when I watch a wrestling show personally I just want to see variety; I want to see different guys different characters…When it’s all the same it can get very monotonous…In the WWE, especially when it was popping, there were so many just blatantly different characters; they were like 180 degrees from one another, and that didn’t mean good or bad but everybody was just so different. That’s how you stood out, because you didn’t really have to even make an effort to stand out because you were different. Now, that’s why guys have to make such an effort to stand out because they’re exactly the same.”

Other topics discussed included:

When he and Mighty Molly were first paired together, did he think it was a good idea?
What were his thoughts about the Green Lantern comic book character coming out?
What wrestlers did he name that he thinks shouldn’t be on WWE TV?
Who does he think is the top masked wrestler in the last thirty years?

This interview is available for listening at http://www.iyhwrestling.com/viewnews.php?autoid=7637.